April 7, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Bowing Today and Tomorrow

Bowing Today and Tomorrow

Isaiah 45:20-25 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ “Gather together and come;
    assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood,
    who pray to gods that cannot save.
²¹ Declare what is to be, present it—
    let them take counsel together.
Who foretold this long ago,
    who declared it from the distant past?
Was it not I, the Lord?
    And there is no God apart from me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
    there is none but me.

²² “Turn to me and be saved,
    all you ends of the earth;
    for I am God, and there is no other.
²³ By myself I have sworn,
    my mouth has uttered in all integrity
    a word that will not be revoked:
Before me every knee will bow;
    by me every tongue will swear.
²⁴ They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
    are deliverance and strength.’”
All who have raged against him
    will come to him and be put to shame.
²⁵ But all the descendants of Israel
    will find deliverance in the Lord
    and will make their boast in him.

 

Who does the Lord call to “gather together and come” (verse 20)?

Who “foretold this long ago” (verse 21)?

What does God command us to do in order to “be saved” (verse 22)?

What will not happen to the word that God “uttered in all integrity” (verse 23)?

Where will “every knee” bow (verse 23)?

What will they say is “in the Lord alone” (verse 24)?

Who will “find deliverance in the Lord and will make their boast in the Lord” (verse 25)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does this passage reveal what changes for us today if we trust in the One that everyone will bow to in the future?

John 5:24-30 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. ²⁵ Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

²⁸ “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. ³⁰ By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

Who “has eternal life” (verse 24)?

What will not happen to the one who “has eternal life” (verse 24)?

What has the one who “has eternal life” done (verse 24)?

What time “has now come” (verse 25)?

Who has “life in himself” (two answers) (verse 26)?

Why has the Father given the Son “authority to judge” (verses 26 and 27)?

What “time is coming” (verse 28)?

Who will “rise to live” (verse 29)?

Who will “rise to be condemned” (verse 29)?

What can Jesus do by Himself (verse 30)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does this passage reveal what changes for us today if we trust in the One that everyone will bow to in the future?

In your opinion, how does John 5:24-30 help us understand that the deliverance that Isaiah 45:20-25 says is “in the Lord alone”?

Romans 14:5-13 - New International Version (NIV)

⁵ One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. ⁶ Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. ⁸ If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. ⁹ For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

¹⁰ You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. ¹¹ It is written:

“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
    every tongue will acknowledge God.’”

¹² So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

¹³ Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 

What should both the person who “considers one day more sacred than another” and the person who “considers every day alike” each be (verse 5)?

Who “does so to the Lord” (three answers) (verse 6)?

How many of us live “for ourselves alone” (verse 7)?

Who do we live for “if we live” (verse 8)?

Who do we die for “if we die” (verse 8)?

Why did Christ die and return to life (verse 9)?

Where will all stand (verse 10)?

What will every tongue do (verse 11)?

Who will each of us “give an account of ourselves” to (verse 12)?

Who should we “stop passing judgment” on (verse 13)?

What should we “make up our mind” not to do (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does this passage reveal what changes for us today if we trust in the One that everyone will bow to in the future?

In your opinion, how does the focus of calling people to turn from the world to God in the statement “Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear” of Isaiah 45:20-25 change to “stop passing judgment on one another” as the focus in the same statement of Romans 14:5-13?

In your opinion, how can Romans 14:5-13 say that we will all “stand before God’s judgment seat” after Jesus promised in John 5:24-30 that “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life”?

1 Peter 4:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. ² As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. ³ For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. ⁴ They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. ⁵ But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ⁶ For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

How should we respond to Christ suffering “in his body” (verse 1)?

Who is “done with sin” (verse 1)?

What do those who are “done with sin” live for (verses 1 and 2)?

Who lives in “debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry” (verse 3)?

What happens when people are “surprised that you do not join them in the reckless, wild living” (verse 4)?

Who will they “have to give account” to (verse 5)?

Why was the gospel “preached even to those who are now dead” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does this passage reveal what changes for us today if we trust in the One that everyone will bow to in the future?

In your opinion, how is the invitation and the result of ignoring the invitation the same for those who Isaiah 45:20-25 says “pray to gods who cannot save” and those that 1 Peter 4:1-6 calls “pagans”?

In your opinion, what does 1 Peter 4:1-6 reveal about the life that John 4:24-30 says we will receive when we hear the Word of Jesus, and believe Him who sent Jesus, and cross “over from death to life”?

In your opinion, how does knowing that the “pagans” of 1 Peter 4:1-6 will heap abuse on Christians help us understand why Romans 14:5-13 instructs us to “stop passing judgment on one another”? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, John, Romans, and 1 Peter help us understand about the things that God has already done and the things He is going to do?

In your opinion, how can we “live according to God” today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

June 25, 2023 – John’s Writings – From Death to Life

From Death to Life

Ezekiel 37:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. ² He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. ³ He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. ⁶ I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

What was in the valley that the Spirit of the Lord brought Ezekiel to (verse 1)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that they “were very dry” (verse 2)?

How did Ezekiel respond to the Lord’s question “can these bones live” (verse 3)?

Whose words were the bones to hear (verse 4)?

What will happen when the Lord makes breath enter the bones (verse 5)?

What will the bones know (verse 6)?

What did Ezekiel hear as he prophesied (verse 7)?

What did the bones not have after the tendons and flesh appeared and were covered with skin (verse 8)?

What was Ezekiel to prophesy to (verse 9)?

Why were the four winds to breathe into the slain (verse 9)?

What happened when Ezekiel prophesied as commanded (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s ability to give life?

John 5:24-30 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. ²⁵ Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

²⁸ “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. ³⁰ By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

Who has eternal life (verse 24)?

What has the one who has eternal life crossed over (verse 24)?

What time has now come (verse 25)?

In your opinion, who are the dead (verse 25)?

When do the dead live (verse 25)?

What has the Father granted the Son (verse 26)?

Who has authority to judge (verse 27)?

What time is coming (verse 28)?

In your opinion, what is the difference between the dead (verse 25) and those in the graves (verse 28)?

What will those who rise from their graves rise to (verse 29)?

Who does Jesus seek to please (verse 30)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s ability to give life?

In your opinion, are the dry bones that come to life in Ezekiel 37:1-10 representative of the ones that Jesus says in John 5:24-30 are dead, or the ones that Jesus said are “in their graves”?  Why?

1 John 2:24-3:3 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵ And this is what he promised us—eternal life.

²⁶ I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. ²⁷ As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

²⁸ And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

²⁹ If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

3 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

What does John say that Christians are to see “remains in you” so that they “remain in the Son and in the Father” (verse 24)?

What did Jesus promise us (verse 25)?

Who is John writing about (verse 26)?

What remains in Christians (verse 27)?

What teaches Christians “all things” (verse 27)?

Who will be “confident and unashamed before him as his coming” (verse 28)?

How do we know that “everyone who does what is right has been born of him” (verse 29)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to you that the Father has lavished great love on you (verse 3:1)?

What has not been made known (verse 2)?

When will we know (verse 2)?

Who purifies themselves (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s ability to give life?

In your opinion, how are the four winds breathing into the slain in Ezekiel 37:1-10 and the anointing in 1 John 2:24-3:3 similar?

In your opinion, how does Jesus’s promise in John 5:24-30 that “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” help us understand how great the love is that God lavished on the “children of God” in 1 John 2:24-3:3?

Revelation 20:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. ² He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. ³ He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

⁴ I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. ⁵ (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

What two things did the “angel coming down out of heaven” have (verse 1)?

How long did the angel bind Satan (verse 2)?

Where did he throw Satan (verse 3)?

What was Satan unable to do (verse 3)?

Who were seated on the thrones (verse 4)?

Who “reigned with Christ a thousand years” (verse 4)?

Who “did not come to life until the thousand years were ended” (verse 5)?

What is the “first resurrection” (verses 4 and 5)?

Who is “blessed and holy” (verse 6)?

What has no power over the “blessed and holy” (verse 6)?

What will the “blessed and holy” do (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s ability to give life?

In your opinion, where does the vivid picture of the dry bones coming to life in Ezekiel 37:1-10 fit into the discussion of the dead coming to life in Revelations 20:1-6 (it is okay to have different opinions on this)?

In your opinion, where does the one who Jesus says in John 5:24-30 “hears my word and believes him who sent me” fit into the Revelation 20:1-6 discussion of first resurrection and second death?

In your opinion, what does 1 John 2:24-3:3 help us understand about those who won’t be affected by the “second death” that Revelation 20:1-6 talks about? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ezekiel, John, 1 John and Revelation teach about spiritual death and life?

In your opinion, how enduring is the spiritual life that God gives?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

September 25, 2022 – John’s Writings – Repent and Love

 

Repent and Love

Ezekiel 18:25-32 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁵ “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear, you Israelites: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? ²⁶ If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, they will die for it; because of the sin they have committed they will die. ²⁷ But if a wicked person turns away from the wickedness they have committed and does what is just and right, they will save their life. ²⁸ Because they consider all the offenses they have committed and turn away from them, that person will surely live; they will not die. ²⁹ Yet the Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are my ways unjust, people of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?

³⁰ “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. ³¹ Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? ³² For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

What do the Israelites (and sometimes we in our hearts) say (verse 25)?

In your opinion, how does Ezekiel, on behalf of the Lord, turn the Israelites (and our) statement around in the two questions “Is my way unjust?  Is it not your ways that are unjust” (verse 25)?

What will happen to a righteous person who “turns from their righteousness and commits sin” (verse 26)?

How will a wicked person save their life (verse 27)?

What must the wicked person consider and turn away from (verse 28)?

In your opinion, why does Ezekiel repeat the essence of verse 25 in verse 29?

How will the Lord judge (verse 30)?

What does Ezekiel call for the Israelites to do so that “sin will not be your downfall” (verse 30)?

What are the Israelites to do after they “rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed” (verse 31)?

Who takes “no pleasure in the death of anyone” (verse 32)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what can we learn about the transformation from being wicked and dead to believing and living in this passage?

John 5:24-30 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. ²⁵ Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

²⁸ “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. ³⁰ By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

What does the one who “hears my word and believes him who sent me” have (verse 24)?

What will the one who “hears my word and believes him who sent me” avoid (verse 24)?

Where has the one who “hears my word and believes him who sent me” crossed from and to (verse 24)?

In your opinion, who are the dead in this quote “a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God” (verse 25)?

What will happen to the dead who hear “the voice of the Son of God” (verse 25)?

What has the Father granted the Son (verse 26)?

Why has the Father given the Son the “authority to judge” (verse 27)?

What will all who “are in their graves” hear (verse 28)?

When those who have “done what is good” come out of their graves what will they do (verse 29)?

When those who have “done what is evil” come out of their graves what will they do (verse 29)?

In your opinion, what is the difference between the crossing “over from death to life” in verse 24 and those in the grave hearing His voice and coming out in verses 28 and 29? 

Why is the judgment of Jesus just (verse 30)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what can we learn about the transformation from being wicked and dead to believing and living in this passage?

In your opinion, how does John 5:24-30 help us understand how to be obedient to the Lord’s command to “get a new heart and a new spirit” in Ezekiel 18:25-30?   

1 John 4:17-5:4 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. ²¹ And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

5 ¹ Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. ² This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. ³ In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, ⁴ for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

When love is made complete what will we have on “the day of judgment” (verse 17)?

What are Christians like “in this world” (verse 17)?

What does “perfect love” drive out (verse 18)?

In your opinion, why does fear have something to do with punishment (verse 18)?

Why do we love (verse 19)?

Who is a liar (verse 20)?

What command has been given to those who love God (verse 21)?

Who is “born of God” (verse 1)?

How do we “know that we love the children of God” (verse 2)?

What is “love for God” (verse 3)?

What does “everyone born of God” do (verse 4)?

What is “the victory that has overcome the world” (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what can we learn about the transformation from being wicked and dead to believing and living in this passage?

In your opinion, how does 1 John’s statement that “we love because he first loved us” show us how it possible for us to obey Ezekiel’s command to “repent and live!”?

In your opinion, how is the crossing “over from death to life” that Jesus promises those who hear His word and believe “Him who sent me” in John 5:24-30 expanded by John in his discussion of love and overcoming the world in 1 John 4:17-5:4?

Revelation 5:1-7 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. ² And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” ³ But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. ⁴ I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. ⁵ Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶ Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 

What did John see “in the right hand of him who sat on the throne” (verse 1)?

What did the “mighty angel” proclaim in a loud voice (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why was there “no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth” who could “open the scroll or even look inside it” (verse 3)?

How did John react when “no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside” (verse 4)?

What did the elder who spoke to John say the “Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” had done (verse 5)?

What was “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” able to do (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why does John who had just heard about “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” then see “a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain” (verse 6)?

Where was the Lamb standing (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to say that the Lamb “had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth” (verse 6)?

What did the Lamb do (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what is in the scroll?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what can we learn about the transformation from being wicked and dead to believing and living in this passage?

In your opinion, how is the conflict between a people who thought that God was unjust and the Lord who called for them the “repent and live” in Ezekiel 18:25-32 reflected in the fact that no one could open the scroll, until the “lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” had triumphed in Revelation 5:1-7? 

In your opinion, what is revealed that the “Son of Man” in John 5:24-30, who is the “Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” of Revelation 5:1-7, is qualified to do?  What is revealed that the “Son of God” in John 5:24-30, who is the “Lamb, looking at if it had been slain” in Revelation 5:1-7, earned the right to do?

In your opinion, how can the love that 1 John 4:17-5:4 says Jesus has for us move us from a fear of punishment to a confidence that the only one worthy of opening the scroll in Revelation 5:1-7 can move us from a fear of punishment to the confidence to love? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ezekiel, John, 1 John and Revelation teach us about the transformation from viewing God as unjust to being confident that Jesus will enable us in our faith to have victory over the world?

In your opinion, how is Jesus transforming you (you do not need to answer this out loud)? 

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)